Predictive modelling of ferroelectric tunnel junctions (original) (raw)
Related papers
Tunneling Electroresistance Effect in Ferroelectric Tunnel Junctions at the Nanoscale
Nano Letters, 2009
Stable and switchable polarization of ferroelectric materials opens a possibility to electrically control their functional behavior. A particularly promising approach is to employ ferroelectric tunnel junctions where the polarization reversal in a ferroelectric barrier changes the tunneling current across the junction. Here, we demonstrate the reproducible tunneling electroresistance effect using a combination of Piezoresponse Force Microscopy (PFM) and Conducting Atomic Force Microscopy (C-AFM) techniques on nanometer-thick epitaxial BaTiO 3 single crystal thin films on SrRuO 3 bottom electrodes. Correlation between ferroelectric and electronic transport properties is established by the direct nanoscale visualization and control of polarization and tunneling current in BaTiO 3 films. The obtained results show a change in resistance by about two orders of magnitude upon polarization reversal on a lateral scale of 20 nm at room temperature.
Giant electrode effect on tunnelling electroresistance in ferroelectric tunnel junctions
Nature Communications, 2014
Among recently discovered ferroelectricity-related phenomena, the tunnelling electroresistance (TER) effect in ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJs) has been attracting rapidly increasing attention owing to the emerging possibilities of non-volatile memory, logic and neuromorphic computing applications of these quantum nanostructures. Despite recent advances in experimental and theoretical studies of FTJs, many questions concerning their electrical behaviour still remain open. In particular, the role of ferroelectric/electrode interfaces and the separation of the ferroelectric-driven TER effect from electrochemical ('redox'-based) resistance-switching effects have to be clarified. Here we report the results of a comprehensive study of epitaxial junctions comprising BaTiO 3 barrier, La 0.7 Sr 0.3 MnO 3 bottom electrode and Au or Cu top electrodes. Our results demonstrate a giant electrode effect on the TER of these asymmetric FTJs. The revealed phenomena are attributed to the microscopic interfacial effect of ferroelectric origin, which is supported by the observation of redox-based resistance switching at much higher voltages.
Theoretical Approach to Electroresistance in Ferroelectric Tunnel Junctions
Physical Review Applied
In this paper, a theoretical approach, comprising the non-equilibrium Green's function method for electronic transport and Landau-Khalatnikov equation for electric polarization dynamics, is presented to describe polarization-dependent tunneling electroresistance (TER) in ferroelectric tunnel junctions. Using appropriate contact, interface, and ferroelectric parameters, measured current-voltage characteristic curves in both inorganic (Co/BaTiO3/La0.67Sr0.33MnO3) and organic (Au/PVDF/W) ferroelectric tunnel junctions can be well described by the proposed approach. Furthermore, under this theoretical framework, the controversy of opposite TER signs observed experimentally by different groups in Co/BaTiO3/La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 systems is addressed by considering the interface termination effects using the effective contact ratio, defined through the effective screening length and dielectric response at the metal/ferroelectric interfaces. Finally, our approach is extended to investigate the role of a CoOx buffer layer at the Co/BaTiO3 interface in a ferroelectric tunnel memristor. It is shown that, in order to have a significant memristor behavior, not only the interface oxygen vacancies but also the CoOx layer thickness may vary with the applied bias.
Tunneling electroresistance in ferroelectric tunnel junctions with a composite barrier
Applied Physics Letters, 2009
Tunneling electroresistance (TER) effect is the change in the electrical resistance of a ferroelectric tunnel junction (FTJ) associated with polarization reversal in the ferroelectric barrier layer. Here we predict that a FTJ with a composite barrier that combines a functional ferroelectric film and a thin layer of a non-polar dielectric can exhibit a significantly enhanced TER. Due to the change in the electrostatic potential with polarization reversal the non-polar dielectric barrier acts as a switch that changes its barrier height from a low to high value. The predicted values of TER are giant and indicate that the resistance of the FTJ can be changed by many orders in magnitude at the coercive electric field of ferroelectric.
Nano Letters, 2009
Magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs), composed of two ferromagnetic electrodes separated by a thin insulating barrier layer, are currently used in spintronic devices, such as magnetic sensors and magnetic random access memories. Recently, driven by demonstrations of ferroelectricity at the nanoscale, thin-film ferroelectric barriers were proposed to extend the functionality of MTJs. Due to the sensitivity of conductance to the magnetization
Giant Electroresistance in Ferroelectric Tunnel Junctions
Physical Review Letters, 2005
The interplay between the electron transport in metal/ferroelectric/metal junctions with ultrathin ferroelectric barriers and the polarization state of a barrier is investigated. Using a model which takes into account screening of polarization charges in metallic electrodes and direct quantum tunneling across a ferroelectric barrier we calculate the change in the tunneling conductance associated with the polarization switching. We find the conductance change of a few orders of magnitude for metallic electrodes with significantly different screening lengths. This giant electroresistance effect is the consequence of a different potential profile seen by transport electrons for the two opposite polarization orientations.